The impact of teaching style and FCI gain on the performance in mechanics tests

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship, if any, between the gain in the force concept inventory (FCI) and study level, gender, repeaters/non-repeaters, teaching style and the end-of-year mechanics result. The study focussed on all students (N = 395) admitted to a post-secondary institution in Malta in October 2015 and who participated in the pretest and posttest FCI exercise, studying physics at advanced (N = 162) or intermediate level (N = 233). There were 36 students at advanced level and 44 students at intermediate level who did not participate in the posttest FCI. In this study a multiple-choice test was used comprising of 30 questions about mechanics concepts and a questionnaire (by Centre for Occupational Research and Development (CORD)) was given to the lecturers to identify the teaching goals and methods used. The pretest was given on the second week of the academic year, October 2015, so that their response was not influenced by mechanics teaching and the posttest (identical to pretest) was given in the end of the scholastic year, May 2016. The results of the study suggest that only 13.7% of the participants exceeded the average-expected gain of 24%. The gain is higher for males, for participants studying advanced level physics and for participants who were taught by particular lecturers with particular teaching goals and methods. There is a positive correlation between the gain in the FCI and the end-of-year score in mechanics questions about forces and Newton’s laws of motion.